In the past two months, three applicants for professional positions with our accounting firm clients claimed bachelor degrees which we discovered were from the following diploma mills: Bienville University in Baton Rouge, LA, Belford University, in Humble, Texas and Almeda University in Boise, Idaho. (As many as 500 resumes in LinkedIn, including those of a New York-based HR director and a CEO in the pharmaceutical industry, boast degrees from Belford University). Diploma mills often claim accreditation by fake accrediting agencies to attract more "students" and to make them appear legitimate. When checking degree claims, the most important step is to ensure that the educational institution is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education nationally recognized accrediting agency. However, it is important to note that not all unaccredited institutions of higher learning are diploma mills. A legitimate institution may be in the process of obtaining accreditation, may have lost accreditation due to financial problems or other factors, or chose not to participate in the accreditation process because it views it as an infringement of its religious, academic, or political freedom (seminaries and bible colleges are examples of such schools.) And there are certain law schools in California that are not required to have accreditation. Their graduates are permitted to take the California bar examination and, upon passing, practice law.

Diploma mills are not a new phenomenon. Historical research suggests that the business of diploma mills has been lucrative since the mid- to late 1800s, when college and university degrees, especially in medicine, were highly envied. Although the FBI-led DIPSCAM operation in the 1980s put a dent in diploma mill activity, the lack of further action by law enforcement, lax or non-existent state laws, and the Internet helped fake degree peddlers to flourish.

In the early 2000s, news of fraudulent degrees began making headlines regularly, implicating even top U.S. government officials. Laura Callahan, the Chief Information Officer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, was found to have claimed three degrees on her resume from a known diploma mill. Following Callahan's resignation, a U.S. government investigation disclosed that 463 of government employees listed degrees from unaccredited institutions, some of which were paid for by the government. And in 2006, the Associated Press reported that at least 135 federal employees held bogus degrees from a diploma mill named Saint Regis. According to the U.S. Secret Service, St. Regis customers included 350 federal government employees and 14 New York City firefighters, who had used the credentials to get promotions and raises.

Diploma mills are rampant in many parts of the world. Australia has a deluge of candidates who admitted to have paid for phony medical diplomas. And sources in Kenya reported that most of its Parliament was found to be riddled with fraudulent degree claims. Many European, African, Far Eastern and Middle Eastern countries also are plagued by fake diplomas. Recently, law enforcement in Canada uncovered a widespread ring of counterfeiters who expertly replicated watermarks from university letterheads. In an ever-expanding global economy, the problem of foreign degree mills hits home, as many U.S. diploma mills have foreign connections.